Ice Cream and Soccer

I didn't sleep well Sunday night.  I think I got on a bad sleep schedule with my lazy weekend.  I trotted off to work feeling pretty chipper because I finally brought my bright red umbrella with me somewhere when it was raining outside (Go me!).  That meant no frizzy hair at work.  Another obvious plus.  Two out of the four of us were sick, so it was pretty quite in our little room of an office.  I caught up on my Marketing Week, Marketing Weekly, Design Weekly, and Grocer readings.  I picked out my favorite articles to be tweeted out over the week.  PS - beware of the shameless plug to occur in 5...4...3...2...1...
All you twitter people out there should follow www.twitter.com/brand_magnetism.  They tweet about a lot of unique and fun design stuff, so get on that.

One of the articles I read had a very interesting title about someone sticking up two fingers to google.  I was like "Woah buddy!"  I thought I knew what it meant because I had watched British television shows at home like Red Dwarf, but I felt compelled to ask about it.  I call it a reverse peace sign, where the back of your hand is facing your insultee and you give a peace sign, but it doesn't mean peace.  I asked if it was the same as the middle finger in America and he said basically it means "F*** you!"  So I followed up with, "Well then what about when rap artists throw up the reverse peace?"  Patrick responded that it wasn't the same because it was out of context.  Everything needs to be in context, and specifically the gesture needs to be straight up and down for it to have the full effect.  So basically, I can now flip you the bird correctly in two different cultures, but I would never do that.  This conversation lead to a more humorous one about what a “thumbs up” hand gesture means in some Middle Eastern countries.  It does not mean, "it's all good", but we will leave it there.  I digress... moving on.

We enjoyed a fajita burrito for lunch and that about sums up Monday.  Tuesday I didn't have to go into the office directly because just after lunch Patrick and I were heading to Uxbridge to meet with someone from Haagen Dazs for a networking type of thing.  It was good that I didn't have to go in early because today I had to dress "smart" or as Patrick put it "suited and booted".  This was my first potential client experience/interaction, so I was nervous and excited.  It was a 40-minute tube ride from central London, so I read Dear John by Nickolas Sparks while Patrick read e-mails.  When we got there we enjoyed a cup of coffee to get into the zone before going in for the presentation.  London has a much greater cafe culture than we do in the states.  If you want a to-go cup you have to specify, otherwise you will get a mug.  Even at a Starbucks.  There is a lot more seating available and people spend tons of time in cafes.  Patrick and I discussed what exactly we would be doing, and what I would be doing.  Since this was my first time I wouldn't be expected to present anything (relief) but I would take notes of reactions and questions.  I was very glad to do it.

The meeting went very well.  The lady from Haagen Dazs was a delight and very spirited.  Patrick presented very well, and I took excellent notes, if I do say so myself.  On the ride back Patrick and I talked about the meeting and what would come from it over our sample size ice cream cups before I fell back into my book, and he into his e-mails.  We parted at Baker Street tube stop, but it was a good day.

Me and Bailey with the Charlton mascot.

That night was our program scheduled soccer match, Brighton vs Charlton.  On the train ride over, rowdy brighton fans boarded and sang merry (out of) tunes for their team.  I thought they were very entertaining.  The girls across from me and the man who smuggle a beer onboard next to me, did not think the spectacle was so entertaining.  The soccer, or as it's called over here football, match was a lot of fun.  We were right on the ground row A and right next to the Brighton section.  It was so easy to root for "Brighton from the south" when they were so spirited.  They ended up beating Charlton 2-1.  Let me tell you, professional footballers a hotties.  Trust me, I was right there.  I would love to go to another match any day of the week.

Brighton fans after they scored their first goal.  "Seagulls! Seagulls! Seagulls!"

Up close and personal to the action.

This is my man.  Hey Painter!

We had so fun (sarcasm) coming back.  Apparently we skipped a gate somewhere on the tube and had to pay extra just to wait a long long time.  Lesson learned: never forget to tap out on the tube.  When we got back, I enjoyed a delicious pickle from my stash and hit the hay.


Today was a day of classes, so besides booking some trips, nothing really interesting happened.  But a lot of interesting stuff will happen this weekend, so stay tuned.


Pip Pip Cheerio!